One minute, no gunshots: Toronto officer takes down van suspect

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A body lies covered on the sidewalk in Toronto after a van mounted a sidewalk crashing into a number of pedestrians on Monday, April 23, 2018.A van apparently jumped a curb Monday in a busy intersection in Toronto and struck numerous people and fled the scene before it was found and the driver was taken into custody, Canadian police said. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press via AP)

A tarp covers an unidentiified body on Yonge St. at Finch Ave. after a van plowed into pedestrians on April 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A suspect is in custody after a white van collided with multiple pedestrians killing nine and injuring at least 16. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Shoes lay on the street as first responders secure the area in Toronto after a van mounted a sidewalk crashing into a crowd of pedestrians on Monday, April 23, 2018. The van apparently jumped a curb Monday in a busy intersection in Toronto and struck the pedestrians and fled the scene before it was found and the driver was taken into custody, Canadian police said. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Emergency services close Yonge Street in Toronto after a van mounted a sidewalk crashing into a crowd of pedestrians on Monday, April 23, 2018. The van apparently jumped a curb Monday in the intersection in Toronto and struck the pedestrians and fled the scene before it was found and the driver was taken into custody, Canadian police said. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press via AP)

A tarp covers an unidentiified body on Yonge St. at Finch Ave. after a van plowed into pedestrians on April 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A suspect is in custody after a white van collided with multiple pedestrians killing nine and injuring at least 16. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Emergency services close Yonge Street in Toronto after a van mounted a sidewalk crashing into a crowd of pedestrians on Monday, April 23, 2018. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Forensic police officers look for evidence after a truck drove up on the curb and hit several pedestrians in Toronto, Ontario, on April 23, 2018.
At least nine people were killed and 16 others wounded Monday when a driver rammed his rental van into a crowd of pedestrians in downtown Toronto, police said, without revealing a possible motive.”This is going to be a complex investigation,” deputy police chief Peter Yuen told reporters. “We have one person in custody and the investigation is ongoing.””We can confirm for you tonight right now we have nine people that are dead, 16 injured,” Yuen said.
/ AFP PHOTO / Lars HagbergLARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images

Law enforcement and first responders on scene at Yonge St. at Finch Ave. after a van plows into pedestrians April 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A suspect is in custody after a white van collided with multiple pedestrians. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Police inspect a van suspected of being involved in a collision injuring at least eight people at Yonge St. and Finch Ave. on April 23, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. A suspect is in custody after a white van collided with multiple pedestrians. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

A injured person is put into the back of an ambulance in Toronto after a van mounted a sidewalk crashing into a crowd of pedestrians on Monday, April 23, 2018. The van apparently jumped a curb Monday in a busy intersection in Toronto and struck the pedestrians and fled the scene before it was found and the driver was taken into custody, Canadian police said. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto police officers talk to a woman after a van mounted a sidewalk crashing into a crowd of pedestrians in Toronto on Monday, April 23, 2018. The van apparently jumped a curb Monday in a busy intersection in Toronto and struck the pedestrians and fled the scene before it was found and the driver was taken into custody, Canadian police said. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police officers stand by a covered body in Toronto after a van mounted a sidewalk and crashed into a crowd of pedestrians on Monday, April 23, 2018. The van apparently jumped a curb Monday in a busy intersection in Toronto, struck the pedestrians and fled the scene before it was found and the driver was taken into custody, Canadian police said. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press via AP)

A police officer stands near a covered body in Toronto after a van mounted a sidewalk crashing into pedestrians on Monday, April 23, 2018. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

A van attack that is among the worst mass killings in Canadian history ended without a shot being fired, elevating a Toronto police officer to hero status.

A driver mowed down pedestrians Monday along a busy stretch of Yonge Street in Toronto’s north end, killing 10 and wounding 15. It ended with a showdown captured on video, where the suspect faced off with a single police officer.

The officer sought cover behind a cruiser, his gun drawn. The other man wielded an object — a cellphone, it appears in retrospect — as if it were a firearm, standing in front of the white van apparently used in the attack, its front end heavily damaged. The two men were about two car-lengths apart, with sirens blaring in the background.

“Shoot me in the head,” the man shouted, jabbing his hand in the air as if firing a gun. But the officer didn’t fire. The man walked toward the officer, getting close enough to almost touch. The officer didn’t fire. Soon after, the man gave up, dropping the item in his hand and falling to his knees. The officer, still facing the suspect on his own, handcuffed the man against the pavement. The whole encounter lasted about a minute.

“He was more concerned with the victims than himself, but he’s certainly feeling the weight of the day,” Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, said in a telephone interview Monday after speaking with the officer, a constable who hasn’t yet been identified. The seven-year veteran’s division includes the area of the attack — effectively, the officer’s backyard, the union chief said.

“He reacted to what he was seeing and his training, and if there was any other indication or any other increase in the threat, there may have been lethal force that could have been used,” McCormack said. “He said ‘I made the judgment call based on the training, what I was seeing.’ And it was the right decision.”

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